Steve Erceg is scheduled to face Ramazan Temirov at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25. The matchup adds a flyweight contest to the card.
Steve Erceg and Ramazan Temirov will meet in a flyweight bout at UFC Abu Dhabi on July 25, adding a ranked matchup to what is shaping up to be a significant card.
Erceg, nicknamed "Astroboy," enters the fight ranked ninth in the flyweight division with a professional record of 14 wins and 4 losses. The 30-year-old Australian trains out of Wilkes Martial Arts and carries a well-rounded offensive game into the cage. Fighting out of an orthodox stance at five-foot-eight with a 68-inch reach, he lands an average of four significant strikes per minute at 45 percent accuracy and supplements his stand-up with 1.15 takedowns per 15 minutes, giving him genuine versatility across all phases.
Temirov, who fights under the name "Temurlan," sits at 13th in the flyweight rankings and brings an impressive 19-3-0 record into this assignment. The 29-year-old orthodox fighter stands five-foot-four with a 63-inch reach and has built his reputation as a high-output striker, averaging 4.37 significant strikes per minute, though his accuracy sits at 40 percent. He has not recorded a submission attempt in the UFC, suggesting his preferred path to victory runs through the striking exchanges.
Why it matters
- The bout is a ranked flyweight matchup, with Erceg at ninth and Temirov at 13th, meaning the winner could push meaningfully up the divisional ladder.
- Erceg's takedown threat versus Temirov's higher striking volume sets up an intriguing tactical contrast between a more well-rounded game plan and a stand-and-bang approach.
- A victory for either man strengthens a case for a top-ten or higher-profile fight in the second half of 2026.
